Showcase

Jason Wilkins attended the MFA Design program at the University of Texas at Austin but withdrew early to put his theoretical studies into practice. He found his fit at Dyal and Partners, the design studio he joined in 2012, which subsequently became part of Page. Wilkins played a key role in the recent redesign of the University of Texas at Austin's visual identity. He enjoyed working on it because it was first and foremost a strategic effort.

MJ Johns is a game and experience designer, Unity developer, and founder of Astire Games. MJ previously worked in AAA on COD: Modern Warfare Remastered and Mafia III, and they also worked in VR creating show demos for the Virtuix Omni. As the studio director for Astire Games, MJ develops educational and family-friendly apps and games for mobile, VR, AR, PC, and web. MJ got their start in software and web development before moving into games and entertainment in 2012.

View the highlights from UT Austin's second annual VJ Battle: Audiopixelcollider, a collaboration between the Department of Arts and Entertainment Technologies, the Butler School of Music and the Department of Theatre and Dance.

Students from the Department of Design, under the guidance of Assistant Professor Jiwon Park, designed and constructed the physical award for the LBJ School of Public Affairs’ new In The Arena award. The inaugural award was presented to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in November.

We recently caught up with Kevin McDonald to learn more about his off-campus course at argodesign in South Austin last fall. Find out more about his experience teaching ITD 170: Making Real World Design and partnering with argo.

In September, while the weather was still hot, Jan Ryan and Jess Voigt visited schools and departments throughout COFA meeting and greeting with students. They created an ice cream pop-up shop, and students asked questions about creative entrepreneurship and design and how COFA students can be a part of the creative economy. Photos by Jen Reel.

For this project in Matt Smith’s Entertainment Systems Design class, students were asked to create a short performance utilizing both projection and lighting. Students used QLab and a Hog 4 lighting console to program each performance.

In spring 2018, students in Sven Ortel & Matthew Smith’s class AET 329: Media Creation for Live Performance designed projection lighting for performances in Ears, Eyes + Feet. The annual performance of collaborative invention and experimentation showcases the talents of students and faculty from the Sarah and Ernest Butler School of Music, Department of Theatre and Dance and the Department of Arts and Entertainment Technologies.

Audiopixelcollider was the College of Fine Arts' first VJ Battle, a live performance by visual artists and lighting designers showcasing their VJing skills to original, student-produced music. This unique and immersive experience on Dec. 8 in the Brockett Theatre combined projection design, film editing and music. Created by the Department of Arts and Entertainment Technologies (AET) and the Department of Theatre and Dance student communities, the show included a featured performance by The Parts Unknown, aka Dax Norman and Bill Byrne. The event featured student work from AET 347, AET 360C, AET 362C and TD 388J. Audiopixelcollider was led by Master of Ceremonies, Dan Caffrey. Photos by Lawrence Peart.

AET students in Matt Smith's Concert and Event Lighting class visited High End Systems' demo room this spring to display their end-of-semester projects. The added challenge? They had to draw songs out of a bowl and then create lighting effects in real time as the song played.